Chapter 192
The starry night sky was already turning pale over Fuyuki when Rin reached the mansion's gate, the moon swallowed by sky blue. The first rays of sunlight hit her back as she stood at the front gates of the mansion. Raising a her hand, she made a finger gun and formed a ball of darkness at the tip of her index finger.
*Whap*
Like a flare, it was aimed at the sky and fired, a distinct red halo surrounding it as it traveled up until it dissipated, as small as a tennis ball in Rin's eye when it disappeared.
After a few moments, the opulent doors swung inwards until it was just wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.
A single maid stood at the doorway, hands folded in front as she stared at Rin and Archer emotionlessly, a lock of white hair on each side of her face trembling slightly in the breeze.
"Are you a Master from the Clock Tower?"
Her voice slipped out, as cool as the marble floor she stood on.
"I'm from the Clock Tower, but I'm allied with them. My name is Tohsaka Rin, the Second Owner of this land."
The maid tilted her head, her eyes remaining locked on the visitors, and then she stepped to the side.
"The mistress bids you welcome. Please enter."
With those words, the doorway widened as the doors swung all the way open, revealing the polished marbled and golden lights, though Archer's eyes could spot a quite a few hairline cracks, as well as thin layers of dust from last night that had escaped Illya and the maids attention.
"My name is Sella. Allow me to guide you to mistress Illya."
She swiftly turned on her heels, her black flats clicking against the marble as she went up the stairs and through the doors at the top that led to the rest of the mansion. When she turned to Archer, he simply shook his head, detecting no traps. Rin turned back to the maid and followed, her twintails bouncing as she ascended the steps.
As they passed through the manor, she could feel the presence of magical detection systems, but nothing beyond that. There weren't any of the typical traps and guardians that inhabited the workshops of a magus. The maid in front of her wasn't your run of the mill homunculus, but given that the Einzbern were renowned as the finest homunculi magi in the world, she had expected something more impressive.
The lack of danger only made her more tense, and she raised her guard a step further, keeping her Circuits hot and her eyes vigilant.
The maid stopped at one of the many intricate doors lining the wide hallways, gently knocking on the smooth white panels adorning the surface.
"The guest has arrived, Mistress."
When no response was forthcoming, the maid knocked again.
"Mistress Illya?"
After a few more moments, still nothing.
At this point, Rin was losing her patience, the lack of sleep driving up her crankiness, and before the maid could apologize, she was already pushing open the door with her hands, neon green grids running down her legs and arms as she easily forced them open, a bang resounding in the hallway.
*ahn~*
Her voice caught in her throat as she registered the sight of a half unclothed Shirou, pants in a suspiciously disheveled state as he lay on the bed, hundreds of strands of silver running up and down his body. His moan died out midway as he caught sight of Rin, the two of them with gaping mouths like a fish as they stared at each other.
While Rin's bugged out at her fellow schoolmates exposed body, the three Servants at the kotatsu were tearing through food like there was no tomorrow, two weight balances steadily stacking up with mikans and mikan-flavored snacks. Already, the two piles were teetering dangerously, yet the two barely slowed as they ripped open plastic like paper, inhaling a constant stream of orange through their mouths. Archer could swear he heard the sound of turbine engines rumbling in their throats, and the table shook with their rapid movements.
It took both Rin and Archer another second to realize that a thin, lean man was also straddling Shirou while he was wrapped in threads, and it was a solid minute before she recognized him as a teacher from Homurahara Academy. Kuzuki Souichirou raised his head for a moment, nodded in greeting at his pupil as if nothing were out of the ordinary, then turned his attention back to his pupil's exposed skin.
"Wh-wh-wh-what is-kya!"
Caught off guard, the threads ran around her body without a hint of resistance, and a heartbeat later she was wrapped up like a mummy.
"Mmmfff!"
Her body warmed up as her Circuits prepared to open up, but out of the corner of her eyes she saw Archer standing to the side, relaxed as he slightly shook his head.
Reluctantly, she allowed the threads to probe her body as they circled her arms and legs, a ticklish sensation trickling upwards from her thighs as they rubbed against bare skin. She deliberately held back from making any sound until the threads retreated, leaving the Tohsaka heiress flushed and slightly gasping as well.
"Sorry for that, I just had to make sure you had no surprises up your sleeve."
The impish grin on Illya's face said otherwise, and Rin didn't miss it either.
"You-y-you-!"
Unfortunately, the pincer attack of Illya's 'inspection' and Kuzuki-sensei's touching of Shirou was too much for her to handle at once, leaving even the genius of Homurahara at loss for once.
"Oooh, that's a good spot, thanks for this. Let me return the favor next time."
"It's fine, if you can recover faster then we'll have more manpower, so it's only logical to do so."
Emiya's body shifted, and she finally saw that Kuzuki was kneading his lower back with expert hands, each press eliciting a grunt of satisfaction from the boy.
Cursing her herself for imagining something else, she steadfastly ignored Archer's snickering in her mind as she went back to the task at hand. Slipping back into her magus persona, she still failed to completely eliminate the faint traces of crimson on her cheeks.
"In light of the errors occurring within the system, the Clock Tower and I, the Second Owner of the land, have agreed to an alliance. I came here today as a representative, in order to abort the Holy Grail War."
Illya raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.
With no interruptions appearing, Rin continued.
"In light of the errors occurring within the system, a truce between the seven Masters will be in effect as long as the Servants remain summoned, until a conclusion has been reached regarding how the system should be dealt with."
Tilting her head, Illya smiled innocently.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we'll fight and defeat you."
Though she was deep in the enemy's territory, Rin didn't hesitate to deliver these words, in the face of three Servants sitting right in front of her.
"Heeh."
For a moment, she felt the pressure skyrocket as Berserker turn her gaze toward her. Even with a mouth stuffed with snacks, her emotionless face was enough to make her feel like an invisible weight had descended on her back.
"How bold. We have more Servants than you, and while you might argue that quality is better than quantity, I daresay we beat you in quality as well~"
"Lancer and Rider's Masters has already agreed to the truce."
Without batting an eye, Rin fired back at Illya.
In truth, only Lancer had agreed, and from the wording of their Master, it didn't seem likely to count on them for help if a Master decided to break the true, let alone a united front of three Servants.
Still, if the bluff could coerce Illya and her side into a truce, then all the better.
"Four against three? Don't make me laugh, Berserker herself can fight against you all and win."
"Oh? Is she going to win against that monster of an Avenger as well?"
Illya pouted a little, her rebuttal hitting a sore spot. Even Berserker had to escape when faced with Avenger in that massive cavern, though it was mostly due to the overwhelming home ground advantage that the corrupted Servant had with the mud.
Deciding to press the advantage, Rin pulled out the ace that Lord El-Melloi II had mentioned.
"We can also provide a solution for your 'disease', if you cooperate with us."
During his research into the Holy Grail War, he'd discovered the existence of the Lesser Grail and it's role as a catalyst in triggering the final sublimation of the Grail for the victor. He had briefly studied it, learning of it's evolution from an object to a homunculus, and drew an educated guess based on what he knew.
Illya's face remained calm as she replied.
"I have no idea what you're trying to say, please spell it out for me since I'm just a kid."
In other words, what concrete evidence did she have to back up her words?
Behind them, Emiya frowned as he heard the words 'disease' mentioned in their conversation.
"You have a disease?"
Illya shot a glare at Tohsaka before turning to face Shirou.
"It's nothing much onii-chan, it's just that my body is weaker than normal because of the sheer amount of magical circuits forced into it."
It wasn't wrong per se, but it was far from the whole truth.
Fortunately for Illya, he seemed to accept it as he sunk back into fluffy bed, Kuzuki's hands continuously massaging through it all.
"Fine, I'll accept the truce."
And if you use it to launch a surprise attack on us, I'll slaughter all of you was what she left unsaid.
I hear you loud and clear
Rin's smile stretched just a little bit wider, having successfully completed her job.
"If that's all, then you can go now."
Turning around, she shooed her away as if she had completely lost interest in her.
Rin hesitated to leave, her mouth opening to ask about Emiya, but then her Servant pushed her out the door, almost bodily lifting her off the ground.
"H-hey!"
The sounds of the two faded away as the door shut, the maid escorting them to the exit.
Is this fine? We could easily overpower them, even if it's 3 against 4.
Berserker's assumption wasn't incorrect, especially since Lancer was already injured after the fight just now. Archer was weaker than any one of them save Caster, as far as she could tell, and Rider she could handle. Only Assassin was a significant obstacle, and even then she was just evenly matched against Berserker.
It's better to take this opportunity to rest and regroup.
Thinking that, she stared at the two new Masters under her flag, both bandaged heavily. Shirou especially, had multitude of threads working overtime to patch up the internal damage he had suffered during his failed projection.
Conceding to her Master, Berserker continued munching on the snacks with Saber and Caster, the Masters and Servants relaxing together in the bedroom filled with the smell of confections and fruits while snow gently fluttered to the ground outside.
Notes:
Been some time since I last updated, been busy and all, and now I'm a indie vtuber as well! Gonna keep updating as regularly as I can from now on, hoping to finish the fic sometime next year. I'll be drawing as well though so progress might be slow~